Tech welcomes Bearcats to Blacksburg for four-game series

The 19th-ranked Hokies meet Binghamton for just second time in program history

March 2, 2017

The weekend series: Back into the Top 25 for the first time since 2013, the 19th-ranked Virginia Tech baseball team welcomes the Binghamton Bearcats to Blacksburg for a four-game series at English Field at Union Park. This will be just the second time the two teams have played, the first time was March 2, 2008, which the Hokies won 12-1. The series starts on Friday with a 2 p.m. game (a change from 3 p.m.) first pitch. Saturday features a doublheader that begins at Noon, and Sunday's single game also starts at Noon. Follow us on our social media accounts - Twitter and Instagram - to see Hokie images, graphics and videos (pregame, ingame and postgame) all weekend long.

WEEKEND SERIES INFORMATION
Virginia Tech vs. Binghamton
March 3-5, 2017
English Field at Union Park
Blacksburg, Virginia

Live Stats - same site all weekend long
Game Day Site - due to construction this year, this site offers answers to "Frequently Asked Questions"

Road Warriors: The Hokies opened the season with four straight wins on the road - three straight at USC Upstate and the first game at Nevada - for the first time since the 2009 season. After a Friday loss to the Wolf pack, Tech responded with two more wins improving to 6-1 on the road this season. That’s the best start to a season since 1992, when the Hokies won their first seven true road contests.

Noncon home field edge: Tech has opened up 2-0 at home and has actually won five straight home nonconference games dating back to last season. Going back to last March 9, the Hokies have registered a 6-2 mark at home in nonconference games, but the impressive part of that is they have scored at least seven runs in each of those eight games.

Statistically speaking: Entering the weekend, the Hokies are ranked nationally in the Top 10 in eight categories, which includes leading the country in home runs (23), second in slugging percentage (.641) and hits (118) and fifth in runs scored (88). Pushing that to the Top 25 adds seven more categories.

Individually, Hokies are ranked in the Top 10 in 15 categories, which includes leading Sam Fragale and Ryan Tufts sitting 1-2 in total bases (37, 35), Fragale third in slugging (1.088) and fourth in home runs (5) and Tufts fifth in doubles (6). Aaron McGarity is tied for fourth in saves (3) and Nick Anderson and Kit Scheetz are tied for sixth in wins (2).

Speaking of home runs: The Hokies have hit 23 home runs so far in 2017 with nine players contributing to the effort. Last season, Tech did not hit its 23rd home run until May 7 and finished with 34 overall as a total of 12 players accounted for at least one. The previous two seasons, the Hokies hit 35 as a team (2015) and just 12 in 2014.

In terms of grand slams, Rahiem Cooper became the first Hokie (in recorded history) to hit two grand slams in the same game - at Nevada (Feb. 26) - and the 17th Hokie since Tech has been a member of the ACC to hit one. Cooper joined Ronnie Shaban (2009-12) as the only two Hokies with multiple grand slams in their ACC career, as Shaban hit three during his time in the program.

Cooper also became just the fifth player during the program’s time in the ACC to hit three home runs in one game and the second this season, as Fragale hit three in the season opener at USC Upstate.

For updates on Virginia Tech baseball, follow the Hokies on Twitter Follow @VT_Baseball